I showed Moana the picture of the icicles and asked her what she thought that was... she said "A snow slide!!" Ha! I guess. Though most slides don't include such sharp edges... those ice blades look dangerous!

The finest 100 mile training. When I finally put the bow down for a peak training phase before my races this year, I could not believe it. I knocked out PR's day after day on routes I train routinely.

I believe several factors contributed to the dramatic peak: Heat training from all the camo clothing in 80+ temps; better fat burning from all day out at moderate pace with not much to eat; full body stronger from carrying about 10 extra pounds bushwhacking over alpine peaks, blowdowns, swamps, crags, etc.

Plus, on race day, I get to fuel up with JERKY from this dude. http://stayvertical928.blogspot.com/2011/09/bull-elk.html

Thanks for checking out my blog. I have followed yours for a year or so now, since I have tried to become an actual runner, not just a hack who shows up and barely finishes.

Jennifer- I hate to admit it but I was up a 1:50am. Insomnia. I hadn't planned on running really, but at 3:30am I decided to head out. I only drink coffee before runs. Sometimes I'll drink water but not usually. I think it's a throw back to ten years of 5:00am swims. My stomach just isn't ready to eat when I wake up and it works very well for me. On paper I'm an under eater but blood sugar lows (bonks) are extremely rare for me, it's been years since I had one. My body weight is also very stable when I'm both training and on a long break. I've stayed within 5 pounds of 145 for the past 5 years. So ya, I don't eat at all before ANY workout, whether that be a 4 hour bike or a 6 hour run. I suspect it's metabolic efficiency above all else.